'Traffic Calming' Sets Nerves On Edge In Wythe

On My Mind

July 06, 2003|By JESSE TODD Daily Press Editor of Editorial Page

"The changes to Chesapeake Avenue are a sad commentary on how the will and voice of a few can be misconstrued as representative of all. These people are elitist isolationists who have the audacity to assume that they know what is right for me."

That's a couple of sentences from one of about 20 letters to the editor published in the last six months dealing with neighborhood improvement efforts in Wythe. And it's a sad commentary on the condition of the Hampton neighborhood that the harshness of that letter was not completely out of line with the tone of some of the others. The folks over in Wythe seem to be mad. Mad at the city. Mad at each other.

What gives?

First, the people writing the letters don't necessarily define the neighborhood. The majority of people might be quite satisfied with the overall process, even if they don't agree with all the individual steps. But when that many letters keep coming on the same topic, something's going on.

While the city is working with the neighborhood on a number of revitalization projects, the tension comes from the "traffic calming" efforts involving Chesapeake Avenue. Perhaps the traffic has been calmed, but not the neighborhood's nerves.

Some people see a conspiracy to close the street, which, other than the Colonial Parkway, might be the most scenic on the Peninsula. Others sense an effort to turn Wythe into a "gated community." People in leadership roles have been verbally abused. The process criticized.

As for those "traffic calming" devices, you'd think from some of the complaints that the city had installed radar-activated Scud missiles designed to blow up any car going more than the posted speed limit. Driving down the street just two weeks ago, I couldn't understand what the fuss is about.

Yes, it's a bit tricky at Powhatan and Chesapeake the first time you drive through, especially if you're used to the old traffic alignment. But the residents complained about speeding. So the city's trying to slow traffic. Nothing has been carved in pavement. These are experiments, designed to see what works and what's acceptable to the neighborhood. Yet some of the citizenry have erupted in verbal road rage.

It is within this storm that the city's Neighborhood Office and its director, Joan Kennedy, must operate. She has a difficult task.

That's because getting people to pay attention to what's happening in their neighborhood, let alone getting them to join task forces, go to meetings and digest data instead of dinner, is always hard. It takes time and commitment. Some people don't like what you're doing. Some people refuse to participate. Some people simply don't care. And others come to the party late and then complain about the process.

And it's been a lengthy process, one that's far from over. There have been communitywide meetings, planning meetings, ballots and mailings and more community meetings. The city has a Web page site devoted to the Olde Wythe Neighborhood Plan (check it out at www.hamptonvaneighborhoods.org/).

Yet you have to wonder if the people of Wythe trust each other. Some might want to argue that they don't trust the city, but ultimately, I don't think the city is going to try to impose anything on the neighborhood. This is about Wythe. What kind of neighborhood does it want to be? Can its residents agree on a vision, identify problems and reach something close to consensus about what the solutions should be? We'll see.

Toward that end, residents ought to mark their calendars for 7 p.m. July 28. The newspaper and the city's Neighborhood Office are co-sponsoring a forum on the Wythe revitalization plan. It will be at the Ruppert Sargent building in downtown. That's the new city and school administration building at 1 Franklin St. In addition to Wythe residents, the panel will include Diane Zahm, an associate professor of urban affairs at Virginia Tech, who is a nationally recognized authority on crime prevention through environmental design.

Ultimately, everyone's goal should be a better neighborhood. People have different ideas about what makes a better neighborhood, but as Kennedy says, "I've yet to meet anyone who wants to ruin their neighborhood."

The contentious residents of Wythe should keep that in mind as they continue what needs to be a civil debate about their future.

Todd is editor of the editorial page. He can be reached at 928-6448 or at jtodd@dailypress.com.